New Royal Navy-Led Northern Navies Initiative

Official Statements

• British Government, November 10:

  • Royal Navy spearheads landmark Northern Navies Initiative, with Joint Expeditionary Force allies to increase collective security
  • The initiative gets allied navies working more closely together, adding to NATO’s deterrence and defence in the Baltic Sea, High North and North Atlantic
  • First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins signed the agreement onboard HMS Prince of Wales at a historic International Sea Power Conference in Oslo, Norway

  “The Royal Navy and its Joint Expeditionary Force (JEF) allies have signed a historic Northern Navies Initiative agreement that will increase security across northern Europe, the North Atlantic and Baltic Sea. This agreement aims to support maritime deterrence and defence for the citizens of the UK and other JEF nations. The historic agreement also sends a powerful signal of unity in response to a changing threat landscape

  The Northern Navies Initiative also seeks to make the JEF NATO’s maritime vanguard in the North Atlantic, High North and Baltic, able to act early, combine quickly and transition seamlessly into NATO command should the Alliance need to mobilise at scale.

  Signed amid an increasingly challenging security environment, the Northern Navies Initiative shows how the UK is working with its allies to step up European security and deterrence. 

  Speaking after signing the historic Northern Navies Initiative on board HMS Prince of Wales during the International Sea Power Conference in Oslo, First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins said: 

  After nine months of hard work, I’m delighted that the JEF Northern Navies Initiative has today taken a huge step forward. Together, we have shown what is possible when like-minded nations are united by a common purpose. The threats we face are multiplying and that we must rise to the challenge before us.

  The agreement signals closer maritime co-operation among JEF partners. They will operate in the same way, train to the same standard, plan together before a crisis and support one another, including by developing compatible equipment. The High North is a challenging environment where closer co-operation with JEF partners will allow each nation to learn lessons quickly and efficiently from each other, using the shared experience to rapidly develop capabilities that could help win a war.

  [...] What happens there affects UK weather, food supply and national security. The UK will respond as a reliable neighbour, a partner in science and stewardship, and a steadfast ally, working with JEF partners to keep the region peaceful, stable and cooperative.

  It also recognises the growing threat posed by hostile activity below the threshold of armed conflict. This includes risks to critical undersea infrastructure, malicious seabed activity and other forms of hybrid aggression.

  In practice, greater interoperability means a Royal Navy frigate could transfer operational responsibility to another JEF member without losing momentum. This would let allied navies to work seamlessly together. One nation’s task group could direct allied sensors and uncrewed vessels, while a warship could repair, refuel and resupply in an allied port rather than returning home.

  The JEF will make its equipment interoperable by design. This will let future autonomous platforms plug in and out of each other’s command and control systems, creating one large maritime force instead of 10 separate ones. It will also let the JEF bring large numbers of platforms to bear in a co-ordinated way.

  This initiative, signed by representatives of all 10 JEF maritime nations, delivers on a Statement of Intent proposed by the First Sea Lord General Sir Gwyn Jenkins in London last April.

  The Royal Navy will also bring the first phase of Atlantic Net, part of Atlantic Bastion, into operation within months. Working with Ocean Infinity, it will help detect hostile underwater activity earlier and protect critical infrastructure. Allies in NATO and the JEF will also benefit from a clearer picture of what is happening beneath the surface.

  NATO provides the foundation, including the standards, plans and framework for collective defence. The JEF brings a smaller group of closely aligned navies together so they can work more closely, more routinely and at a higher state of readiness.

  The Royal Navy is also renewing its own fleet. It is embarking on its most extensive rebuilding programme since the Second World War. The existing programme will use 280,000 tonnes of new steel, rising to around 450,000 tonnes when planned programmes are included.

  The UK is also putting in £100m of new investment to progress the transformation of the UK Commando Force into a Warfighting Formation focused on the High North because of its growing importance, including aiming to increase the number of Royal Marines regularly deployed in the region.”